1,200 Lynchburg City employees and retirees are victims of a security breech. A document was posted on the City of Lynchburg's website that had precscription drug and personal information. It was intended for vendors, but according to the city, whoever posted it, didn't realize it had sensitive material.
The City's Human Resources Director, Margaret Schmitt, tells Ten on Your Side the document was posted for more than a week before a city employee caught the mistake on June 4th. It was immediately taken down.
Schmitt also says that all employees affected by the breach are being notified. Look for a letter. The City is also working with Google to remove any information that might pop up during an internet search. We're told the person who posted the material is being disciplined.
In an email to employees, City Manager Kimball Payne wrote, "Rather than immediately notifying employees, we have focused our efforts on removing the data from the internet to prevent the curious from searching for personal data that is not their own and to minimize further risk of exposure."
Schmitt says they could track the hits on the webpage.... and in her words, there weren't many.
She says the city sincerely apologizes to employees for this breech of security and privacy.
The City of Lynchburg has set up a hotline. That number is (434) 455-3964. You can also email any questions to this address: IDsupport@lynchburgva.gov.